Portable, foldable rifle or gun support

ABSTRACT

A portable, foldable rifle or gun support having a rear riflesupporting yoke formed by the upper outturned ends of a pair of intermediate, ground-engaging legs; a forward rifle-supporting yoke similarly formed on a pair of forward legs pivotally supported on the intermediate legs adjacent the ground; and a rearwardly extending leg pivotally connected to the intermediate legs to vary the angle of the rifle supported by the yokes, the elevation of the yokes being slightly variable by the angle between the intermediate and front legs.

Dalmaso United States Patent m] PORTABLE, FOLDABLE RIFLE 0R GUN SUPPORT [76] Inventor: Reno Dalmaso, RD. 1, Pone Ln.,

Franklin, Pa. 16323 22] Filed: June 18, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 370,844

[52] US. Cl... 42/94, 248/166 [51] Int. Cl. F4lc 21/00 [58] Field of Search 42/94; 89/37 B, 37 BA,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,847,909 8/1958 Kester, 42/94 3,235,998 2/l966 Hadley 42/94 I FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 397,026 4/1923 Germany...; 89/37 BA Feb. 4, 1975 Primary Examiner-Stephen C. Bentley Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Raymond N. Matson [57] ABSTRACT A portable, foldable rifle or gun support having a rear rifle-supporting yoke formed by the upper outturned ends of a pair of intermediate, ground-engaging legs; a forward rifle-supporting yoke similarly formed on a pair of forward legs pivotally supported on the intermediate legs adjacent the ground; and a rearwardly extending leg pivotally connected to the intermediate legs to vary the angle of the rifle supported by the yokes, the elevation of the yokes being slightly variable by the angle between the intermediate and front legs.

4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEB 41975 3,863 376 sum 1 or 2 FIG! PORTABLE, FOLDABLE This invention relates generally to gun supports or rests for steadying thesame during firing and more particularly to a portable and readily foldable support for rifles used while in a sitting or kneeling position.

RIFLE on GUN SUPPORT.

Various types of gun rests are known inthe art and insofar as is known, all are characterized by one or more undesirable features. Among these are a bulkiness and weight making them difficult to carry; a complexity of structure rendering setting up or adjustments of positiondiffic ult; and the provision of only a'single point -est. v

- Accordingly, the main object of the present invention I is to provide an improved gun rest which will eliminate the above and other undesirable features of known gun rests. I Y

An important object ofthe'present invention is to provide a lightweight, portable gun restwhich'may b set up or taken'down as simply as a tripod. I

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an improved portable gun support which supports both'the front and rear ofa gun without wobbling.

The lower ends of the legs 14 are also provided with close fitting rigid straps 26 at points spaced from their lower ends and the rear portions of the straps are pivotally connected as at 28.to the intermediate legs 12 at pointsalso spaced from their lower ends. The lower ends 30 of the forward legs 14 are tapered so as to have a good stable bearing on the supporting intermediate legs when the forward legs 14 and straps 26 are pivoted forwardly about the pivots 28. v

The upper ends of the intermediate legs 12 are pivotally connected at spaced points 31 to a rigid member 32 just below their upper ends which are also outwardly diverging to form a rear gun supporting yoke 20 and are. also cushioned by sleeve members 21. Depending from and centrally of the rigid pivot member 32 is a rigid member 34 to which the upper end of the rear leg l6 ispivoted as at 36. As shown, the bottom ends of the pivoted laterally together about their upper pivots 24 ,legs 12 and 16 are also tapered as at 38 to facilitate ground penetration when in use.

It will be apparent that when the legs 12 and 14 are ,and 31 and then together in a fore and aft direction A further important object of the present invention is to provide a gun support which is strong, sturdy and of long life in use, is simple to set up or-fold, and which is susceptible of ready and economic-manufacture.

Other objectsiand advantagesof the present invention will become apparent during the course of the followingdescription.

In the drawings I have shown one embodiment of the invention. In this showing? I 7 FIG. '1 ,is a side'p'erspective view of the gun support in use showing itsfront and rear support of a gun;

FIG 2 is a front elevational view of the gunsupport to agreatly'enlarged scale; 1 I

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary rear elevational view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a side 'elevational view to a decreased scale showing how the'position of the rear leg varies the I angle of elevation of a'gun supported on the front and' rear yokes; I

FIG. 5 isa horizontal sectional view to an increased scale taken onthe line 55 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is'a similar sectiontaken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view partly in section of I Y the gun-supporting yokes formed by the top diverging ends of the front and intermediate legs. I v Referring to the drawings, numeral 10 designates the portable, foldable rifle support as a whole which is preferably formed of'a lightweight metal such as aluminum or a strong plastic, and comprises a pair of intermediate legs 12, a pair of forward legs 14, and a single rear or rearwardly' extending leg 16. Only the legs 12 and 16 are ground engaging and these form a very sturdy and stable basic tripod support.

As is clearly shown in FIGS- 2. and 3, the front legs l4 terminate at their upper ends in upwardly and'outwardly inclined'portions l8 which form a gun supporting front yoke 20 (FIG; 7) when moved into abutting relationship when the lower parts of the legs are spread.

about their lower pivots 28 and the rear leg 16 is swung forwardly in between them about its pivot 36, that the gun support comprises a compact, lightweight package. Reverse pivoting of all members sets up the gun support instantly as shown in FIG. 1 to eliminate the setting up problems as characterize prior art structures.

It will now be apparent that the present invention I herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departure from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim: I

l. A gun support comprising, in combination, a pair of front legs and a pair of intermediate legs, each pair being laterally pivotable toward and away from each other at a point adjacent their upper ends; the lower ends of said intermediate legs being ground engaging, and the lower ends of said front legs being pivoted to said intermediate legs at a point spaced above the ground for movement forwardly away from or rearwardly toward said intermediate legs; the lower ends of said front legs bearing against said intermediate legs when in forward mo'st position to limit separation of the two pairs of legs; and a fifth leg pivoted to the upper ends of said intermediate legs and extending rearwardly' thereof to vary the angle of a gun resting on the upper The divergent portionsl8 ar covered with-a soft cushion'ing material 21 such as rubber, etc. Each of the legs 14 is provided with a close fitting rigid strap 22 (FIGS.

f 2, 6 and 8) just below the portions 18 and these straps are pivotally connected together asat 24.

ends of said front and intermediate legs.

2. The invention recited in claim 1, wherein the upper ends of said pairs of legs are bent outwardly and upwardly to define gun supporting yokes.

3. The invention recited in claim 2; and cushioning sleeves mounted on said upper ends.

. 4. The invention recited in claim 1, wherein said fifth leg is pivotable to a position between said pairs of legs; 

1. A gun support comprising, in combination, a pair of front legs and a pair of intermediate legs, each pair being laterally pivotable toward and away from each other at a point adjacent their upper ends; the lower ends of said intermediate legs being ground engaging, and the lower ends of said front legs being pivoted to said intermediate legs at a point spaced above the ground for movement forwardly away from or rearwardly toward said intermediate legs; the lower ends of said front legs bearing against said intermediate legs when in forward most position to limit separation of the two pairs of legs; and a fifth leg pivoted to the upper ends of said intermediate legs and extending rearwardly thereof to vary the angle of a gun resting on the upper ends of said front and intermediate legs.
 2. The invention recited in claim 1, wherein the upper ends of said pairs of legs are bent outwardly and upwardly to define gun supporting yokes.
 3. The invention recited in claim 2; and cushioning sleeves mounted on said upper ends.
 4. The invention recited in claim 1, wherein said fifth leg is pivotable to a position between said pairs of legs. 